Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.22

Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 21st, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of 0.2235 per share on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. This is a positive change from Vistra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22.

Vistra has a dividend payout ratio of 10.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Vistra to earn $6.32 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.89 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 14.1%.

Vistra Stock Down 7.8 %

Vistra stock traded down $12.67 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $150.51. 9,944,101 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,293,202. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $160.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The company has a market cap of $51.21 billion, a PE ratio of 28.08, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.22. Vistra has a one year low of $46.18 and a one year high of $199.84.

Vistra announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vistra

In other Vistra news, Director Scott B. Helm sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.77, for a total value of $2,795,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 343,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,990,029.50. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total value of $18,878,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 254,932 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $202.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Vistra from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Vistra in a report on Monday, January 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $206.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $151.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vistra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.64.

Vistra Company Profile

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across states in the United States and the District of Columbia.